| I. The Colonial Experience, 1707-1775 |
The history of Christ Church is tied closely to the history of the
United States and to the establishment of the Episcopal Church. This
congregation mirrors our nation’s history. Its early struggles in the
face of a Puritan theocracy, participation in both popular and unpopular
wars, and stands on a variety of issues of the day all reflect our
national past and present.
When the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) sent its first missionary to
Connecticut, the colony had no Anglican church, no Anglican ministers,
35 communicants, 50 “frequenters,” and a population of 35,000. Half of
the one percent of the colony were Anglicans, and most of them probably
lived in Stratford. Though Puritans held a firm grip on the Connecticut
colony, that “half of one percent” in Stratford stood their ground. In
1707 a vestry was elected, making Christ Church the first Anglican
church in Connecticut. A simple wooden structure was dedicated at
Christmas, 1724, with Rev. Samuel Johnson as the first resident priest. A
Yale graduate and former Congregationalist minister, he shepherded the
growing flock for 39 years, the longest tenure of any priest in our
300-year history.
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Talented, tireless, and determined, he ministered to small Anglican
groups from Norwalk to New London. He also educated candidates for the
clergy (one of whom was his son William Samuel Johnson), corresponded
with Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin who published his philosophical
writings, and oversaw the building of a new second church in 1743. A
rooster weather vane made in 1719 was placed atop its steeple. The
church bell from this second church continues to call the faithful
today.
In 1754 he accepted the offer to be President of King’s
College (now Columbia) in New York. After nine years there, he returned
to Stratford and his beloved Christ Church. With assistance, he
continued to minister to the flock until his death in 1772. He lies
buried in our cemetery.
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